Grants and Contributions

This 13-month project will allow the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW) to support the capacity of national women’s organizations that focus on key areas such as justice, leadership, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender-based violence. This will be achieved through the further distribution of funds to selected national women’s organizations, taking into consideration those who advance equality for underrepresented women, to implement activities to reinforce their capacities. This project will allow the selected national women’s organizations to develop internal tools and resources that will enhance their capacities to expand on, enhance or improve the delivery of their respective missions and mandates. CRIAW will compile and analyze the results of these projects in order to develop a national overview of the capacity of national women’s organizations in Canada.

The supplemental funding will allow CRIAW to create and coordinate a solid knowledge sharing mechanism between selected national women’s organizations (FDF recipients) and allow a strong reporting component to be put in place.

This 25-month project aims to explore forensic DNA self-collection as an innovative solution to improve access to evidence collection after sexual assault in rural, remote, and underserved communities across Canada.

Aligned with Call to Justice 5.5 of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, the initiative will examine international innovations from Australia, the UK, and Kenya, as well as domestic practices involving ongoing self-collection methods. Stakeholder interviews across number of provinces and territories will gather insights from legal professionals, law enforcement, front-line organizations, First Nations leaders, and medical professionals. A survey targeting the general public, including survivors, will assess perceptions and feasibility of self-collection.

Key outputs include a draft forensic DNA self-collection protocol informed by literature, stakeholder feedback, and survey results. This protocol will be tested and refined through consultations and with healthcare providers.

The project will culminate in a public webinar to share findings and gather additional input, ensuring recommendations reflect diverse needs. The final report will synthesize findings, provide actionable recommendations, and contribute to advancing equitable and accessible evidence collection solutions for survivors of sexualized violence across Canada.

The supplemental funding will be used for in-person community engagement across the five identified regions of the project: Ontario, Yukon, Northwest Territories, Newfound and Labrador and Manitoba.

Through this 25-month project Workforce Warrior will create a four-pronged solutions-based system to address systemic barriers for women in the blue economy. The goal of the project is to create space and place within the ocean economy for Indigenous peoples, and more specifically women and gender-diverse individuals, to grow and thrive in meaningful careers in the blue economy. This will be achieved through the creation of an information portal and guidance mentors to support employers and employees on the employment journey. There will be synchronous monthly meetings with Elders/Knowledge Keepers on items of interest within the sector, and research compiled and shared on challenges for women within the blue economy, identification of systemic barriers, best practices for addressing systemic barriers, practical applications for sustainable change.

Through this 10-month project, Egale Canada will advance social, political, and economic equality for Canada’s 2SLGBTQI communities by addressing systemic barriers to inclusion and fostering advocacy capacity. This will be achieved by hosting the Pride 7 (P7) Summit, a platform for advocates, policymakers, and civil society leaders to develop actionable, evidence-based policy recommendations tailored to Canada’s domestic priorities.

Key activities include conducting pre-Summit consultations to equip Canadian organizations with tools and knowledge, hosting the Summit to align priorities and produce a comprehensive communiqué, and organizing post-Summit working meetings to operationalize recommendations and ensure their integration into ongoing Canadian advocacy initiatives. Monitoring and evaluation activities, including pre- and post-Summit surveys and focus groups, will assess knowledge gained, network growth, and the project’s overall impact.

This initiative, delivered in partnership with Dignity Network Canada and in collaboration with Égides, Oxfam Canada, Cooperation Canada, and other local organizations, policymakers, and partners, will strengthen Canadian 2SLGBTQI advocacy by providing practical tools and resources, fostering long-term collaboration, and addressing systemic barriers to equality.

Through this 49-month project, Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak (LFMO) will contribute to the empowerment of Métis women by creating leadership resources and fostering networks necessary to enhance their leadership capabilities.

The development of the Empowering Métis Women in Leadership Curriculum and resources, will address topics through an approach centered on the Métis Holistic Lifelong Learning Model that can begin the process of decolonizing leadership by exploring strengths and weaknesses, including how colonial education systems continue to influence individuals, families, and communities inside and outside of school or formalized learning environments. The development process will include engagement and consultation with subject matter experts, Traditional Knowledge holders and Métis women and gender-diverse folks to continually inform project outputs.

Once developed, the curriculum and resources will first be piloted and then implemented nationally, available for all Métis women and gender-diverse people. Through this work, LFMO will begin to set the stage for systemic change in which Métis women and gender-diverse people will experience equity and equality in leadership roles.

Through this 25-month project, Wabanaki Two Spirit Alliance will address the needs and barriers to equality for 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities, specifically for Two-Spirit, Trans, and Youth in the Wabanaki territory. This will be achieved by identifying barriers and better practices through literature and resources review, needs assessments, community and organizational engagement and consultations, and knowledge sharing events.

At the end of the project, Wabanaki Two Spirit Alliance will have developed and shared community-led policy recommendations on a wide-range of issues related to health care and mental health, social services, housing needs, cultural specific and safe care, and education for Wabanaki 2SLGBTQQIA+ members.

Through this 25-month project, North Bay Pride will address the needs and barriers to equality for 2SLGBTQI+ communities. This will be achieved by (1) creating a Community Advisory Group representing diverse voices; (2) conducting a Needs Assessment to identify barriers to inclusion for diverse members in the 2SLGBTQI+ Community, and action steps to address them; (3) validating the Needs Assessment / Action plan with 2SLGBTQI+ Intersectional Groups; (4) piloting targeted activities to address barriers to diverse 2SLGBTQI+ engagement, one of which is the development of accessible platforms; and (5) mobilizing information and resources to the broader community and so address the specific needs of diverse 2SLGBTQI+ people.

Through this 26-month systemic change project, Catholic community services of York Region will help advance women’s economic security and prosperity through systemic change. Specifically, the project will address systemic barriers within male-dominated industries/sectors by (1) Research barriers to Newcomer and BIPOC women’s involvement in male-dominated industries and develop evidence-based framework; (2) Pilot the framework with Male-dominated industry; (3) Create a network of Champions; and (4) Mobilize knowledge through Outreach, Advocacy and Engagement to drive Systemic Change. An external evaluator will measure and assess the impact of the systemic change project.

Through this 14-month project, Actua will counteract the root barriers to gender equality in STEM. This will be achieved by gathering current data and information on the persistent barriers to gender equality in STEM; taking action to change gender norms and attitudes within STEM learning environments through teacher and instructor training; increasing action-based collaboration across the Actua network; and, advancing the national dialogue on gender equity in STEM.

Through this 14-month project, Fear Is Not Love Society will build its capacity to advance gender equality. It will address the significant growth the organization has undergone in last two years and evaluate if the organization is meeting the needs of their diverse community/communities. The project will include developing a new operational plan, reviewing existing documents, gathering input internally and surveying client groups and then implementing the changes.